Is there a difference between a one piece and a two piece violin back?? Such as a tone difference. And which do your prefer?

Sofia Leo

Lebanon, Oregon

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July 26, 2011 - 11:03 pm

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There is no difference in tone - the Masters built violins with one and two piece backs, and even added on "wings" if two pieces of wood weren't wide enough. The grain and figure of the wood are the determining factors, as well as how the wood is cut - one-piece backs are made from wood that is "slab cut," while two-piece backs are made from "quarter sawn" wood.

one-piece back means you need a bigger piece of wood, two-piece back means you could use two smaller piece of wood. Bigger piece of wood is probably more difficult to get and thus cost more. That's probably why violins with one-piece back are more expensive than two-piece back.

However, MV 650 is cheaper than CVN 600 and CVN700 even though it is a one-piece back violin. My guess is MV650 is not made of maple back and spruce top, but rosewood.

kakashi540

California

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July 27, 2011 - 3:47 am

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i see. i always thought that different types of backs produce a different type of tone…